Bowed spindle head board in fanlight pattern
chancito
| Posted in General Discussion on
This may be too general a question, but I would like to get pointed in the right direction in designing a bed based on the attached image. My oldest daughter is getting married in six months and she would really like a spindle headboard bed that has a curved shape like a fan light as similar to the image I posted. As a fairly novice woodworker, I’m not sure how to have the curved headboard attached to the bed posts with a smooth transition. I’ve never done any bent lamination nor do I have a lathe to fashion the spindles. Any help would be appreciated.
Regards,
Andrew Coco
Replies
What access to woodworking tools do you have or own? Beds are large and you have to have large benches, extension tables, etc. There are many articles and videos in FWW about bed making. I haven't read one incorporating spindles, though. Chairmakers make spindles with hand-planes or with drawknives. There are many articles in FWW about shaping cylindrical shapes with those tools. Once you make a spindle and saw it lengthwise in half, it could be attached to a headboard using just glue and/or pins, pegs, biscuits, dominos, or splines. All depends on tools available and skill level. Wood selection is an important consideration to make a sunburst. Others with more experience than I have could offer suggestions base upon your tool availability.
I did make a mission style bed, from a 2012 article in FW by Matt Berger, last year and so I do have the space and tools for this big a project. It’s the sunburst design/construction that’s daunting.
Appreciate your comments about the spindles with hand tools, I’ll have to check those articles.
I was just looking at hand working videos and this one reminded me of your post. I have reviewed it several times and admire the skill Mario Rodriguez has in shaping curved parts.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2005/12/01/shaping-tapered-legs
I would not rely on the curved piece to connect the bed posts. I would have an upper and a lower stretcher assembled with tenon and mortise to the bed posts, the curved piece as well as the center piece would be cut to size on the bandsaw and smoothed out with a belt sander or a router template. Drilling would be done with a hand drill guided by a full scale drawing . The fanlight would be screwed or doweled to the stretchers.
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